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Marlene Esperat, 45
Marlene was killed on March 24, 2005,
the first journalist killed in the line of duty that year
Marlene Esperat was a columnist for the Sultan Kudarat-based Midland Review. She also hosted a blocktime program at a local radio station.
Esperat was known for her exposés on alleged corruption at the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and other local government offices.
Prior to her work as a journalist in 1999, Esperat worked as a chemist, and later asresident ombudsman for the DA.
The TacurongCity police certified that there was "a real threat to her life" due to her stinging exposes. A hand grenade was lobbed at her house two years before the killing but she was not around at that time and was not hurt.
She had two police officers as security escorts during the time of her death, but the police said she gave them the day off in line with the observance of the traditional Holy Week, though on the condition that they would be available anytime she needed them.
During her employment inDA Region 12 from 1987 to2004 as resident ombudsman, she uncovered numerous cases of graft and corrupt practices allegedly committed by public officials involving rampant misuse of public funds intended for the use of marginalized farmers.
She accused Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, Region 12 Finance Officer andRegional Accountant, respectively, of corruption. Esperat worked onnumerous cases, such as the unremitted government’s share of GSIS premiums of DA 12 employees from January to December 1997.
Esperat, along with several witnesses, also exposed the alleged deliberate burning of the DA office in CotabatoCity on 7 May 1998 to destroy hard evidence in the cases against Montañer and his companions.
In early 2005, Montañer and Sabay allegedly drew up a plan to permanently silence Esperat through ex-military intelligence officer Rowie Barua. On 24 March 2005, self-confessed killer Gerry Cabayag shot Esperat in the head in front of the journalist’s shocked children, while they were at supper.
Based on the testimony of suspect-turned-state witness Barua, the case against alleged masterminds Montañer and Sabay seems strong.
The issue is not only a press freedom issue. Montañer and Sabay’s connection in the killing of Esperat, and the cases left by the journalist, could pave the way for a deeper scrutiny into the alleged massive corruption inside the DA that extends to its highest levels.
Based on the exposés and cases filed by Esperat before the Ombudsman when she was still alive, the corruption inside the DA, not only involves the two suspected slaymasterminds, but also several high-ranking national officials – including former DA undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante and former National Food Authorityadministrator and now Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap – in connectionwith the P1.1- billion fertilizer scam.
Chronology of events
24 March 2005At around 7 p.m., unknown assailants enterEsperat’s home in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat and shot her dead in front of her children.
8 April 2005City Prosecutor Emmanuel de Peralta files Information charging John Doe and “Jeck” in the murder of Esperat.
12 April 2005Prosecutor Al Calica files Amended Information for Murder vs. Estanislao “Jun Brown” Bismanos, Rowie Barua, Gerry Baguin Cabayag, and Randy “Jeck/Jake” Fernandez-Grecia.
20 May 2005A second Amended Information is filed adding Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay as accused. A warrant of arrest is issued.
23 May 2005Montañer and Sabay files Urgent Motion to Suspend Further Proceedings and Recall Warrant of Arrest.
26 May 2005The Motion of Montañer and Sabay is denied.
9 June 2005The Department of Justice (DOJ), acting upon a Petition for Review filed by Montañer and Sabay, orders the re-investigation of case.
14 June 2005DOJ Sec. Gonzales constitutes a Panel of Prosecutors composed of De Peralta, Florencio de la Cruz, Jr., Edwin S. Dayog, Paulino Q. Gallegos, Tocod D. Ronda and Nestor Lazaro to conduct the re-investigation.
29 June 2005De Peralta, Ronda, de la Cruz Jr., Dayog and Gallegos issuea resolution dismissing the complaint against Montañer and Sabay.
1 July 2005De Peralta and Ronda file a Motion to Withdraw the 2nd Amended Information and for a Recall of the Warrants of Arrest against Montañer and Sabay.
6 July 2005The Supreme Court receives a letter from the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) dated 4 July 2005, and a letter from Atty. Nena Santos (the Esperat family’s private counsel) and George Esperat (Marlene’s widower) dated 24 June 2005 requesting a change of venue of trial from Tacurong City to Cebu City.
25 July 2005Judge Francis E. Palmones Jr. issues an order recalling the warrants of arrest against Montañer and Sabay; denies the motion to withdraw the 2nd amended information; and directs the prosecution to present additional evidence against Montañer and Sabay.
26 July 2005The Justice Secretary reconstitutes the prosecution panel with De Peralta, De la Cruz, Dayog, Lazaro and Dacera, excluding Ronda; DOJ revokes the designation of Ronda as officer in charge of Tacurong City Prosecution Office.
29July 2006The Re-investigation Panel dismisses the case against Montañer and Sabay, and withdraws the Information; De Peralta and Ronda subsequently file a Compliance with Omnibus Order submitting and simultaneously offering in evidence the “true and real evidence with regards to Montañer and Sabay”.
17 August 2005Judge Palmones, in his letter addressed to the Court Administrator, recommends the change of venue.
18 August 2005DOJ reconstitutes a Prosecution Panel with State Prosecutors Leo Dacera, Dayog, De la Cruz, Lazaro and Peter Medalle as members.
22 August 2005The Prosecution Panel files a Manifestation & Omnibus Motion praying for reconsideration of the order recalling the warrant of arrest, to expunge Prosecutor Ronda and De Peralta’s “Compliance with Omnibus Order” and to set the Case for Hearing for Determination of Probable Cause.
31 August 2005Judge Palmones deniesthe Omnibus Motion and instead dismisses the case against Montañer and Sabay (on the ground that the prosecution had failed to present additional evidence as he had directed).
5 October 2005State Prosecutors file“Urgent Motion for Extension of Time to File Motion for Reconsideration”, asking to be given until 10 October 2005 to file the motion for reconsideration.
17 October 2005State Prosecutors file a motion for reconsideration.
23 November 2005The Supreme Court issues a resolution granting the change of venue of the case from Tacurong City to Cebu City.
22 February 2006Cebu City RTC Judge Eric F. Menchavez denies the State Prosecutor’s Urgent Motion for Extension of Time to File Motion for Reconsideration, and declares the 31 August 2005 order of Judge Palmones as having attained finality on 6 October 2005.
14 March 2006The Prosecution files a motion for reconsideration of the court’s 22 February 2006 order, which Sabay opposed on 20 March 2006.
23 May 2006The Prosecution files a Motion to Discharge accused Barua as state witness.
1 June 2006Judge Menchavez denies the prosecution’s 14 March 2006 motion for reconsideration.
6 October 2006Judge Menchavez finds Bismanos, Cabayag and Grecia guilty of murder, and acquits Barua (who had turned state witness).
The Prosecution files a Motion to Reinstate Montañer and Sabay as accused (which the two oppose).
27 November 2006Judge Menchavez denies the6 October 2006 motion, arguing that the dismissal of Montañer and Sabay as accused, as directed in the order of Judge Palmones, had become final.
13 September 2007 Valmi Garcia Mariveles, sister of Esperat, files a complaint at the DOJ against alleged masterminds Montañer and Sabay.In her petition to the DOJ, Mariveles claims that the reinstatement of the case against the masterminds would “help to dispel the mistaken notion that it is government’s official policy to perpetuate a culture of impunity in the extrajudicial killing of journalists in our country.”
19 November 2007Montañer and Sabay, ask the Manila Court of Appeals to enjoin the state prosecutor and the DOJ from re-investigating the case and re-filing charges against them.
1 February 2008State Prosecutor Geronimo Sy files anInformation against Montañer and Sabay before the Cebu City RTC.
4 February 2008Judge Simeon P. Dumdum Jr. issues warrants of arrest.
Montañer and Sabay file on the same day a Petition for Certiorari for the Issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction to enjoin Judge Dumdum from continuing with the criminal proceedings and from implementing the warrants of arrest.
(A certiorari is a writ issued by a superior court to a lower court to annul or modify ongoing proceedings if the latter judge acted on a case outside his jurisdiction.)
18 February 2008Judge Dumdum denies the motion by the Montañer and Sabay to dismiss the charges against them. Dumdum on the same date also affirms the Cebu Court’s jurisdiction over the case, stating that the case "against Sabay and Montañer is but a continuation of the proceedings, of which Crim. Case No. 2568 was just the first part, relative to the murder of Marlene Esperat. The Supreme Court has directed the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City to conduct the proceedings. The latter continues to have jurisdiction over the case."
24 March 2008FFFJ and Atty. Santos seek the Supreme Court’sdeclaratory resolution extending the grant of change of venue of the first case to the second case on the ground that both deal with the murder of Esperat, and to dismiss Petition for Certiorari before Court of Appeals in Cebu.
25 March 2008The Cebu Court of Appeals issues a 60-day Temporary Restraining Order.
7 May 2008Montañer and Sabay file a Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Preliminary Injunction.
14 May 2008The Cebu Court of Appeals issues a Writ of Preliminary Injunction; gives the parties 20 days (from receipt of Notice of Resolution) to file their respective memoranda (thereafter, the case is submitted for decision).
5 September 2008FFFJ, through its secretariat the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, receives the Supreme Court’s resolution denying the request of FFFJ and Atty. Santos for the Court to include thesecond case within the ambit of its 23 November 2005 resolution for lack of legal basis.
17 September 2008The DOJ issues a Department Order (DO) to constitute the Panel of Prosecutors, which should not include Tacurong-based prosecutors. A Motion to Withdraw the case from Cebu City court is drawn up and given to Pros. Hazel Valdes.
15 October 2008The Manila Court of Appeals denies the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by the alleged masterminds to stop the re-investigation of, and the filing of charges against them for the 2005 killing of Esperat.
20 October 2008 The Prosecution re-files murder charges against Montañer and Sabay before the Tacurong City RTC.
21 October 2008Tacurong RTC Judge Milanio Guerrero issues a warrant of arrest against the accused.
On the same day, accused Montañer and Sabay file a"Motion to
Quash (the charges) with Alternative Prayers for the Suspension of
Proceedings and Deferment of the Issuance of Warrant of Arrest".
The alleged masterminds claim that the case filed before the Tacurong City RTC on 20 October 2008 was a "mere revival or re-opening of Criminal Case No. 2568, which was previously dismissed by the(Tacurong City) court in its Order dated August 31, 2005."
18 February 2009FFFJ and Atty. Santos file a request to change the venue of the case against Montañer and Sabay from Tacurong City to Makati City.
7 April 2009Judge Guerrero denies the accused’s motion to quash.
20 April 2009Montañer and Sabay through their counsel file a motion for reconsideration of the Tacurong City RTC’s 7 April 2009 decision.
22 April 2009Judge Guerrero sets the hearing on the motion for reconsideration on 20 May 2009.
Lawyer Emmanuel Badoy, Montañer and Sabay’s counsel, files a manifestation to hear their motion for reconsideration on 29 April 2009.
Judge Guerrero denies the petition to move the hearing on the motion on 29 April 2009. But because of the “importance of the motion”, he changes thedate of the hearing to 13 May 2009 instead of 20 May.
The Tacurong City RTC will hear the motion for reconsideration of Montañer and Sabay on 13 May 2009 at 8:30 a.m. (local time).
19 May 2009Judge Guerrero denies the motion for reconsideration filed by the two accused asking the court to reverse its denial of their motion to dismiss the murder case against them.
21 May 2009The alleged masterminds file a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition With Prayer for Writ of Preliminary Injunction asking the appellate court to declare the denial of their Motion for Reconsideration for the dismissal of the murder case as grave abuse of discretion on the part of Judge Guerrero.
3 August 2009 The Cagayan de Oro City Court of Appeals orders alleged masterminds to “rectify… its failure to state the place of issue of petitioners’ counsel’s IBP Official Receipt; and failure to indicate in the petition the actual addresses of the petitioners and that of private respondent in violation with (sic) Section 3 (1st par.), Rule 46 of the Revised Rules of Court.”
The appellate court said failure to comply would mean the dismissal of the alleged masterminds’ petition.
26 August 2009The Supreme Court approves requests filed by the Esperat family and the FFFJ to transfer the trial venue of the murder case against Montañer and Sabay to Makati City RTC from Tacurong City RTC.
22 October 2009The Court of Appeals in Cagayan de Oro asks respondents (the Esperat family and the Office of the Solicitor General) to comment on the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by the accused masterminds.
The appellate court also informs the parties receipt of the 24 August 2009 manifestation of the alleged masterminds “rectifying the defects noted in the petition (for certiorari and prohibition)” and of the Tacurong City RTC acknowledging receipt of the 3 August 2009 resolution.
16 November 2009The alleged masterminds file through their counsel Cesar Jimenea Jr. the “Extremely URGENT Motion for the Issuance of the Writ of Preliminary Injunction”, underscoring its “extreme urgency” as the alleged masterminds “have not been reporting to work for more than a year now” because of the arrest warrant and “are (now) in danger of being dismissed” from the Region XII office of the DA.
27 November 2009FFFJ legal counsel Prima Jesusa Quinsayas representing the Esperat family files a Comment to the accused masterminds’ Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition.
3 December 2009The Court of Appeals in Cagayan De Oro City grants the petition of the accused for issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction. The CA CDO also stops the implementation of the 21 October 2008 arrest warrant issued by Tacurong City RTC Judge Guerrero against alleged masterminds.
Since November 2009, the alleged masterminds have returned to their work at the Department of Agriculture in Cotabato City.
As of 24 March 2010, the fifth death anniversary of Esperat, the masterminds have yet to file their consolidated reply to the separate comment filed by the family of Esperat and the Solicitor General. The alleged masterminds filed a second motion asking the court to extend the deadline for filing of their consolidated reply on 19 March 2010.
Any information contained in this compilation may be used provided that
the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility is properly attributed.